Survival of weak-field seekers inside a TOP trap even beyond the adiabatic condition

Abstract

In this paper, for the first time in the context of time orbiting potential (TOP) trap, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the adiabatic evolution of weak field seeking states have been quantitatively examined. It has been well accepted since decades that adiabaticity has to be obeyed by the atoms for successful magnetic trapping. However, we show, on the contrary, that atoms can also be confined beyond the adiabatic limit. For the demonstration, we have considered a toy model of a single weak field seeking atom in its ground state and have calculated its survival probability inside a TOP trap. Our findings open new possibilities to relax the restrictions of atom trapping in laboratories.